The making of “In The Crease”.

It was all the rage/hype at the Johns Hopkins University “Blue Jay Lacrosse Camp” during my time in high-school in the early-to-mid 90’s, because Doug Knight (UVA) kept on doing it & doing it. Maybe those extreme “Mountain Dew” commercials, back then, were to blame? It was one of the wildest things seen and coolest way to score instead of a “BTB” (behind-the-back) shot. But as a goalie, when I saw 2 “keepers” at camp get hurt from attackmen/middies crashing into the net, I was more scared of “The Dive” than facing the 95-100 mph shots coming at me!

When asked to portray this in a rendering for Jim Rood’s business, “In The Crease Lacrosse” based out of Maryland, my mind went right back to this personal time and experience of mine on the field. However, off the field, I did remember doing an earlier version of something like “The Dive” for a customer in Melbourne, Australia (Mr. Alan Lewer/Altona Lacrosse Club):

Mr. Lewer not only hung the piece up in his “bar room” at home, but got it permanently “inked”…

Development:

I got approval from a quick sketch, but needed original reference pics… I just couldn’t “execute it cold”. So an early morning pose on the living room couch simulating “The Dive” was done.